Pakistan's Saqib Khan took seven wickets on his Test debut on Thursday, as Sri Lanka collapsed to 446 all out on the fourth morning of the first Test in Rawalpindi. Sri Lanka had started the day on 404 for 4 and finished with a first-innings lead of 12 runs. Saqib ended with 7-130, meaning seven wickets for 130 runs, on an overcast morning.
Sri Lanka lose their last six wickets
Saqib struck in the first over of the day, having Dhananjaya de Silva caught behind by Ghazi Ghori. De Silva had resumed on 167 and was out without adding to that total. He had hit 20 fours in a marathon innings that lasted 405 minutes.
Captain Kusal Mendis, who had reached his hundred on the third day, was out to Saqib for 119 in the fifth over of the morning, after adding only two runs to his overnight score. Mendis had hit 10 fours and four sixes in five hours at the crease. Sri Lanka lost their last six wickets for 42 runs, and Sonal Dinusha, on 20, edged to slip to give Saqib his fifth wicket. Saqib then cleaned up the tail, with Lahiru Kumara out for 0 and Asitha Fernando for four. Tailenders are the lower-order batters who come in near the end of an innings.
Saqib became only the fourth Pakistani to take seven wickets in an innings on Test debut. He joins pace bowler Mohammad Zahid (7-66), off-spinner Mohammad Nazir (7-99) and leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed (7-114) on that list.
Pakistan's reply before lunch
Pakistan's batters quickly erased the deficit. At lunch they were 39 for 1, having lost opener Tayyab Arif for 11. Azan Awais (16) and Mohammad Taha (12) were unbeaten at the interval, and Pakistan's lead had grown to 27 runs.
Pakistan's innings was still under way at that stage, so the result of the Test is still open. A first-innings lead is the number of runs one side scores more than the other across their first innings, and it can shape the rest of the match.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan ke Saqib Khan ne Rawalpindi Test mein debut par 7 wicket liye, aur Sri Lanka 446 par all out ho gaya. Sri Lanka ki 12 run ki pehli innings leed Pakistan ne lunch tak khatam kar di. Match abhi jari tha, is liye natija abhi khula hai. Aam Pakistani ke liye yeh khel ki khabar hai, jis se cricket ka josh barh sakta hai.
